The fourth SEISS grants
Applications to the long-awaited Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) opened last week. This is the government's fourth grant that gives financial support to self-employed workers who have been impacted by Covid-19.
This SEISS grant covers the time period from 1st February 2021 - 30th April 2021, and the deadline is the 1st June, so I'd recommend getting your application in as soon as you can.
Who is eligible?
To be eligible for the SEISS grant you must be a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership. You cannot claim the grant if you trade through a limited company or a trust.
- You must have traded in the tax years 2019/20 and 2020/21
- You are currently trading but are impacted by reduced demand due to coronavirus, or have been trading but are temporarily unable to do so due to coronavirus
- You intend to continue to trade and reasonably believe there will be a significant reduction in their trading profits.
In order to claim the fourth grant, you must reasonably believe that your business will face a significant reduction in trading revenues or demand due to coronavirus between 1st February 2021 and 30th April 2021.
I would recommend that anyone looking to claim through this grant provide clear evidence that shows how your business has been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in fewer business activities and revenue than normally forecast.
One thing to bear in mind during your eligibility decision-making is that you do not need to consider any other coronavirus scheme support payments that you have received during the past 12 months. This grant stands alone.
One note I would recommend to my clients is to only make a claim once you are sure, and have proof of your business being heavily impacted by the pandemic.
How much financial support you could be eligible for?
This SEISS grant is calculated at 80% of the 3 months average trading profits. It will be paid out in one single instalment and will be capped at ￡7,500 per business.
Your average trading profits will be calculated by looking at your previous tax returns from the 2016/17 to 2019/20 tax years.
If you have a gap in tax returns during this period don't worry, HMRC will use your most recent returns to calculate your grant amount.
What you’ll need to make your claim
?Making a claim is easy, giving you have met all of the eligibility criteria.
All you'll need is:
- Self Assessment Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR)
- National Insurance number
- Government Gateway user ID and password
- UK bank details including account number, sort code, name on the account and address linked to the account
How to make a claim
Once you have decided to make a claim, gathered your proof, and have all your documents together, making the actual claim is very easy. The best way is to head directly to the government website at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-self-employment-income-support-scheme
The SEISS grants are subject to Income Tax and self-employed National Insurance Contributions, meaning that they must be reported on your 2021 to 2022 Self Assessment tax return.
Future grants
If you are unsuccessful in this round, or do not feel that you yet qualify for this grant, there will be a fifth grant available towards the end of the year, covering the time period of May 2021 to September 2021.